Status bar

The status bar is displayed at the bottom of the screen during gameplay and shows the player's status. The status bar can be removed from the screen by maximising the viewport, although it is still visible in automap mode. In the very first alpha version of Doom, the status bar framed the entire screen and was a visual representation of the player character's visor.

Doom games status bar


In the Doom games the status bar is made of a cement-like texture overlaid with large red characters for key information, graphics for the face of the protagonist, and smaller yellow characters for additional information.


 * Ammo: The remaining ammo of the currently selected weapon, in large red characters.
 * Health: The player's health in large red characters. This can range from zero to 200 percent. If it is reduced to zero percent the player dies.
 * Arms: The weapons currently possessed by the player (except fists, chainsaw and super shotgun), in small yellow characters. These correspond to the keys pressed to activate them.
 * In deathmatch mode, the arms display is replaced by a frag display showing the player's current accumulated kills in large red characters. Further, the background color of the player face is changed to match the player's uniform color.
 * Graphics of the protagonist's face. This gives an immediate indicator of health and also reacts to events such as damage to the player. Specifically, if the player is hurt, the face turns and looks in the direction of the attack; a new weapon causes the face to grin briefly; and as health falls, the face becomes more beaten and bloodied. If the player has activated Doom cheat codes or the invulnerability cheat, or picks up the invulnerability powerup, the face has glowing golden eyes while idle. Gaining more than 20 points of health while taking damage will result in the Ouch face appearing.
 * Armor: The current amount of armoring that protects the player, in large red characters. This can range from zero to 200 percent (and, in versions of Doom prior to v1.2, a much larger value).
 * Graphics of the keys obtained by the player for the current level.
 * The remaining and maximum ammo for all four ammunition types (bullets, shells, rockets and energy cells), in small yellow characters.
 * When "spy mode" is used in cooperative multiplayer games, the status bar remains that of the "spying" player.

Technical


The status bar code in the Doom source code is responsible not only for drawing the status bar, but also performs the palette special effects when injured or picking up items, and detects the entry of cheat codes.

Pre-release versions of Doom showed messages to the player and multiplayer chat being performed inside the status bar. This was moved to the heads-up display; however, the Doom source includes leftover variables relating to "status bar chat" and the message display.

In the source code, ST_* is used as a prefix for files and functions associated with the status bar. This trend continues in the IWAD file, where graphic resources relating to the status bar begin with ST. The following resources are used for the status bar:


 * :       The main status bar graphic.
 * :   Small grey numbers used for weapons not yet possessed. The graphics for 1, 8, 9 and 0 are present but never used.
 * :   Large numbers, used for health, armor, frags, and ammo displays.
 * :  Negative symbol for large text.
 * :    Percent symbol for large text.
 * :  Small yellow numbers to indicate weapons possessed (also used for total ammo display).
 * :   Icons used for the key display. For Boom-compatible source ports, STKEYS[6-8] lumps can be overridden to represent combinations of key cards and skull keys.
 * :       graphic used when accessing the disk.
 * :     CD-ROM graphic used when accessing a CD-ROM.
 * :      The  graphic includes a frags box. This box is overwritten by the  graphic containing the weapons inventory when not in deathmatch mode.
 * :       Used as backgrounds behind the face graphics in multiplayer mode, with the color corresponding to the player's color.
 * :        Player face graphics.

Older versions
The setup above is valid for Doom v1.2 and later. In v1.1 and earlier, the status bar is composed of the following images:
 * :     Left part of the main status bar graphic, showing the ammo and health blocks.
 * :     Right part of the main status bar graphic, showing the frags box, the mugshot, the armor, keys, and global ammo blocks.
 * :     Left part of a status bar meant for the automap, showing the score. This is a remnant of abandoned design ideas from the pre-release versions.
 * :     Right part of the automap status bar, showing currently owned weapon. This too is development garbage.
 * :      A large box covering the right part of the automap, used to display messages. This can be seen in the beta, but was abandoned as well.
 * :   Weapon graphics, in the order shotgun, chaingun, rocket launcher, plasma rifle, chainsaw, BFG 9000, apparently created by shrinking the pickup sprites.

Heretic status bar
In Heretic the status bar is made of a grey rock-like texture with two demonic heads on the sides. A chain is stretched between the mouths of these heads. A gem is placed on the chain. The position of the gem corresponds to the player's health level: the further to the left, the lower the health. The color of the gem is red in single player, but it can also be green, yellow, or blue when playing deathmatch to match the player's cape color. The eyes of the demonic heads become yellow when either the Ring of Invincibility is active, or the god mode cheat is used.

The central part of the status bar has two appearance options. Most of the time, the player will see its normal mode, in which its contents are similar to Doom status bar. A different appearance option will be displayed when the player switches between inventory items.

Normal mode


The central part of the status bar in this mode has several sections in it (from left to right):
 * Life - this section shows the amount of player's health. In the deathmatch game it changes to "Kills" and shows the amount of frags.
 * Ammo - this section shows the amount (above) and the type (below) of ammo for the current weapon. The type of ammo is shown as a picture (in the example image above it is a green arrow that corresponds to Ethereal Arrows). This section is empty when the staff is the current weapon.
 * Keys - this small sections shows the keys that the player has collected. Each of these three grey squares changes its color to the color of the taken key: the top one is for yellow, the middle one is for green, and the bottom one is for blue.
 * Inventory - this section shows the current selected item from the inventory and its amount (if there is more than one) in the lower right corner.
 * Armor - this section shows the amount of player's armor.

Inventory mode


This mode is activated when the player switches between inventory items. The central part of the status bar in this mode consists of seven rectangular cells, which will show items from the player's inventory. The number of items of the same type, if there is more than one, will be shown in the lower right corner of the corresponding cell. The selected item is shown with a golden frame. Items are shown in order of pickup, newer on the left. Since there are ten types of items in the game, and there are only seven cells on the screen, the player needs to press the inventory switch buttons to see other items. In this case, blue flashing arrows will be shown on the corresponding sides for hints. The status bar will return to normal mode if the player does not press the inventory switch buttons within five seconds.

Technical
The status bar code in the Heretic source code (file sb_bar.c) is responsible not only for drawing the status bar, but also for handling cheat codes.

In the source code, SB_* is used as a prefix for files and functions associated with the status bar. In the IWAD file the following resources are used for the status bar:
 * , : Parts of the left demonic face.
 * , : Parts of the right demonic face.
 * : The background of the status bar.
 * : The background for the health chain.
 * : The health chain.
 * : Different color versions of the gem that shows the player's health: 0 for green, 1 for yellow, 2 for red, and 3 for blue.
 * : Background for the chosen item's sprite in the fullscreen mode.
 * : An icon showing the selected slot in the inventory.
 * : Animation for using an item from the inventory. It looks like a blue splash.
 * : Flashing left arrow shown when scrolling through the inventory.
 * : Flashing right arrow shown when scrolling through the inventory.
 * : Version of the central part of the status bar for the deathmatch.
 * : Version of the central part of the status bar when the player is scrolling through the inventory.
 * : Icons used for the key display. * is Y for the yellow key, G for the green key, or B for the blue key.
 * : A black rectangle used when the amount or type of the ammo or item is updated.
 * : Used when the amount of frags, health, or armor is updated.
 * : Large yellow numbers, used for health or frags, ammo, and armor displays.
 * : Negative symbol for large text.
 * : Used in deathmatch when frags are below -9 (negative nine), then a word "Lame" is displayed instead of number.
 * : Small yellow numbers to indicate the amount of each item in the inventory.
 * : Icons showing the type of ammo for the current weapon. * is GLD for Wand Crystals, BOW for Ethereal Arrows, BST for Claw Orbs, RAM for Lesser Runes, PNX for Flame Orbs, and LOB for Mace Spheres.
 * : Version of the central part of the status bar for the single player.
 * : Spinning icon of the Tome of Power artifact, shown in the upper right side of the screen when it is active.
 * : Spinning icon of the Wings of Wrath artifact, shown in the upper right side of the screen when it is active.
 * : Overlays that make the eyes of the demonic heads become yellow when either the Ring of Invincibility is active, or the god mode cheat is used.

Early versions
During the development of the Heretic, the status bar underwent changes. The screenshots that were published in various gaming magazines show two early versions of the interface: one early from around September 1994 and one closer to the final version.

September 1994 version


This early version of the status bar can be seen in the screenshots included in issue 5 (September 1994) of the CD-only "Interactive Entertainment" magazine. Some notes on this version:
 * all screenshots have a "Kills" section on the left side, which shows the number of enemies killed;
 * instead of "Armor", there is a "Mana" section on the right side, which shows the amount of ammo for the current weapon;
 * the central part of the status bar is divided into eight small and two large cells, with the silhouette of the armor in the left large cell. This part looks the same in all screenshots and the cells are always empty.

Later version


This version of status bar is from a later pre-release build of Heretic. It is almost identical to the final status bar. Some notes on this version:
 * it appears that in this version, the player's invulnerability was shown with two yellow rectangles instead of the demon heads' yellow eyes;
 * none of the known screenshots show the amount of the player's armor, although there is a cell for this;
 * there are no ammo type icons yet.

Hexen status bar
In Hexen the status bar is made of a grey rock-like texture with two winged demonic figures on the sides. A chain with a gem on it is located at the bottom of the status bar. The position of the gem corresponds to the player's health level: the further to the left, the lower the health. The appearance of the chain and gem depends on the player's character class. The color of the gem is red in single player, but it can also be one of eight different colors when playing deathmatch to match the player's color (blue, red, yellow, green, jade, white, hazel, or purple).

The central part of the status bar has three appearance options. Most of the time, the player will see its normal mode, in which its contents are similar to Doom status bar. A different appearance options will be displayed when the player switches between inventory items or uses the automap.

Normal mode


The central part of the status bar in this mode has several sections in it (from left to right):
 * Life - this section shows the amount of player's health. In the deathmatch game it changes to "Kill" and shows the amount of frags.
 * Mana - this section shows the amount of blue (on the left) and green (on the right) mana the player has.
 * Inventory - this section shows the current selected item from the inventory and its amount (if there is more than one) in the lower right corner.
 * Ultimate weapon pieces - this section shows the parts of the ultimate (fourth) weapon that the player has collected. It is Quietus for Baratus, Wraithverge for Parias, or Bloodscourge for Daedolon.
 * A.C. - this section shows the player's armor class.

Inventory mode


This mode is activated when the player switches between inventory items. The central part of the status bar in this mode consists of seven rectangular cells, which will show items from the player's inventory (both artifacts and puzzle items). The number of items of the same type, if there is more than one, will be shown in the lower right corner of the corresponding cell. The selected item is shown with a light gray frame. Items are shown in order of pickup, newer on the left. Since there are only seven cells on the screen, and a lot more types of items in the game, the player needs to press the inventory switch buttons to see other items. In this case, blue flashing arrows will be shown on the corresponding sides for hints. The status bar will return to normal mode if the player does not press the inventory switch buttons within five seconds.

Keys and armor mode


This mode is activated when the player uses the automap. The central part of the status bar in this mode consists of five small rectangular cells on the left and four big rectangular cells on the right. The left cells show the player's keys, and the right cells show the pieces of armor that have been picked up (from left to right: Mesh Armor, Falcon Shield, Platinum Helm, Amulet of Warding).

Technical
The status bar code in the Hexen source code (file sb_bar.c) is responsible not only for drawing the status bar, but also for handling cheat codes.

In the source code, SB_* is used as a prefix for files and functions associated with the status bar. In the IWAD file the following resources are used for the status bar:
 * : Background for the chosen item's sprite in the fullscreen mode.
 * : Animation for using an item from the inventory. It looks like a blue splash.
 * : Flashing left arrow shown when scrolling through the inventory.
 * : Flashing right arrow shown when scrolling through the inventory.
 * : Large yellow numbers used to display health or frags, and armor.
 * : Negative symbol for large text.
 * : Small yellow numbers used to indicate the amount of each item in the inventory and to display the amount of mana.
 * : Large red numbers, used for health when its amount is less than 25.
 * : Spinning icon of the Wings of Wrath artifact, shown in the upper right side of the screen when it is active.
 * : Spinning icon of the Icon of the Defender artifact, shown in the upper right side of the screen when it is active.
 * : Spinning icon of the Boots of Speed artifact, shown in the upper right side of the screen when it is active.
 * : Spinning icon of the Dark Servant artifact, shown in the upper right side of the screen when it is active.
 * : Complete status bar.
 * : Top of the status bar.
 * , : Left and right borders of the health chain. Right border contains the symbol of, which means "life".
 * : Used when the amount of frags, health, or armor is updated.
 * : An image of an empty inventory slot. It is displayed after the item has been used.
 * , : Bars and icons of blue (1) and green (2) mana that appear when the weapon that uses it is in the player's hands.
 * , : Bars and icons of blue (1) and green (2) mana that appear when the weapon that uses it is not in the player's hands.
 * : Version of the central part of the status bar for the inventory mode.
 * : Version of the central part of the status bar for normal mode.
 * : An icon showing the selected slot in the inventory.
 * : Overlay for the "Life" section in deathmatch mode with the word "Kill".
 * : Silhouette of an ultimate (fourth) weapon: 0 for Quietus, 1 for Wraithverge, and 2 for Bloodscourge.
 * : An image of a fully assembled ultimate weapon.
 * : Images of various pieces of Quietus.
 * : Images of various pieces of Wraithverge.
 * : Images of various pieces of Bloodscourge.
 * : Version of the central part of the status bar for the keys and armor mode.
 * : Icons for different keys.
 * : Icons for pieces of armor.
 * : The health chain for Baratus (fighter).
 * : The health chain for Parias (cleric).
 * : The health chain for Daedolon (mage).
 * : Different color versions of the life gem for the cleric: 1 for blue, 2 for red, 3 for yellow, 4 for green, 5 for jade, 6 for white, 7 for hazel, and 8 for purple.
 * : Different color versions of the life gem for the mage.
 * , : Different color versions of the life gem for the fighter.

Strife status bar

 * Armor type and amount
 * Health
 * Inventory items
 * Sigil pieces
 * Ammo type and amount